mentifact

plural mentifacts

1. A shared idea, value, or belief of a culture that influences how individuals perceive the world around them. This includes intangible aspects of the culture, such as language, religion, and philosophy.

   The Golden Rule, for example, is a mentifact in American culture today.

   1953, Irwin Taylor Sanders, editor, Societies Around the World, volume 1: Eskimo, Navajo, Baganda, Dryden Press, page 15

   1 more example

   Mentifacts and replicas, including other surrogates like holograms, were accepted as apt substitutes for artifacts because they, too, demonstrate and may even exceed artifacts in revealing culture.

   1994 January 1, Peter E. Rider, Studies in history and museums, University of Ottawa Press, page 85